THE SPOKESMAN • TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 2022 A5
Sparkling wines on tap shake up brewpub culture
BY TIM TRAINOR
Redmond Spokesman
In beer-crazy Central Ore-
gon, a Redmond couple is hop-
ing something fresh will draw in
drinkers: wine.
Sparkling wine, to be exact —
naturally carbonated and run
through the taps next to your
local lager, so every pour is fresh
and no half-empty bottles go to
waste.
Debra Worthen-Brey and
Phil Brey launched their com-
pany, Sand Lily Sparkling
Wines, last year. Their first
batch of finished wines are now
on tap in Bend and Redmond.
For now, the two-person team
are the winemakers, distributors
and the marketers — taking on
every job necessary to get the
business off the ground.
The Breys hope they’ve found
a niche in the region’s overflow-
ing beverage industry. While
champagne and its non-French
relatives are common at par-
ties and wine shops, the couple
doesn’t see it often in dive bars
and brew pups in the region.
Sparkling wine on tap is com-
mon in some parts of Europe
and starting to show up the
U.S., said Worthen-Brey. Some
event-specific mobile wine carts
now have it on hand, but it’s still
pretty rare to see it on the tap
list next to the Bud Light.
For now, the couple is offer-
ing two varieties — a brut and
a brut rosé, both with an ABV
of 12 percent. The brut is made
with 100 percent chardonnay
grapes while the rosé is a blend
of both chardonnay and pinot
noir, giving it a flavor more of
raspberry and cherry.
They start with Willamette
Valley grapes grown in the hills
near Philomath. Brey adds
sugar and yeast to the tank of
crushed grapes and lets it fer-
ment over a period ranging
from six weeks to two months.
Time and fermentation work
to create a naturally carbonated
wine. After that, Brey can add
finishers to smooth out and play
up specific flavors.
Courtesy photo
The Sand Lily rosé is a blend of both chardonnay and pinot noir, giving
it a flavor more of raspberry and cherry.
Courtesy photo
Phil Brey of Sand Lily Sparkling Wine uses tanks to add natural carbonation to their varietals that are sold
in kegs to local bars.
Courtesy photo
The sparkling wine is sold in kegs so it can be served on tap at local bars.
For now, you can find Sand
Lily on tap at Otto’s Landing in
Redmond, and at Boneyard and
Van Henion in Bend. Mixolo-
gists have already come around
to it, said Worthen-Brey, be-
cause it makes it easier for them
to add fresh bubbles to cham-
pagne-based cocktails.
Keeping the wine in kegs also
helps reduce waste. Skipping the
bottle phases reduces material
use and packaging.
Brey is a longtime fixture of
the Bend brewing community,
having worked for Deschutes
Brewery back in the 1990s and
now for Van Henion Brewing.
He said it has been fun to dabble
in making wines, moving from
a process that takes just hours to
brew and bottle to one that can
now take months.
“It has slowed me down a lot
and made me take my time,” he
said. “That’s been a nice change.”
Brey is more comfortable in
the beer culture atmosphere
of laid-back drinks at home in
both dingy bars or outdoor pa-
tios. He knows wine can be in-
timidating for some drinkers
and the culture that surrounds
it is more sophisticated, some-
times bordering on pretentious.
He said Sand Lily hopes to
break down some of those bar-
riers with their easy-to-order,
easy to-drink varieties.
“We’re trying to take some of
the pretension out of it by put-
ting it on tap in a bar,” said Brey.
█
Reporter: ttrainor@
redmondspokesman.com
New wine bar sets sights on fun, community
BY NICK ROSENBERGER
Redmond Spokesman
Redmond residents can plan on a
new place to socialize this November
when Kari and Michael Nelson open
Testimony Wine Bar just north of
downtown.
The space, set to open in November,
is meant to be a comfortable space to
learn about wine, have fun and connect
with each other, said Kari Nelson.
“I absolutely love this community,”
she said. “I want to provide a really fun
space that everyone can afford, that ev-
eryone has associations with.”
The wine bar, located at 307 NW
6th St., will feature a 1,000-square-foot
wraparound deck, bottle shop and
event space complete with charcuterie
offerings and custom-made truffles
from Hot Lava Bakery in Sunriver.
“We’re not trying to be bougie in
here,” Nelson said. “We’re trying to just
have some fun.”
Additionally, the bar will be focused
primarily on small, boutique wine-
makers in Oregon and Washington.
For the majority of the wines they sell,
Testimony will be the exclusive retailer
— meaning customers won’t be able to
find them anywhere else.
“It’s really important to me that I’m
able to represent these winemakers in
my space because they’re mom-and-
pop shops,” she said. “They don’t have
the time to go and distribute and sell
their products.”
And, even though it’s a little more
work for the Nelsons to learn the wine-
maker’s stories, Kari said it’s fun to
learn about new producers, watch re-
lationships brew and see how excited
winemakers are about the growing in-
dustry in Central Oregon.
Additionally, the wine bar will host
events, such as a Wednesday open
mic, mimosa brunches, paint-and-sip
nights, girls night out and winemaker
dinners and lectures.
The wine bar is a labor of love for
many hands. The Nelsons both work
full-time jobs — Michael as an electri-
cal engineer and Kari at St. Charles —
though they’ve done much of the con-
struction themselves and with friends.
In the three months since they bought
the property, they’ve spent nearly every
evening and weekend working on the
project.
The property wasn’t initially for sale
until Jeff Casselry, a real estate broker
in Redmond who is also a member of
the Redmond Rotary Club, realized the
1934 home across from his firm would
be the perfect place for Testimony.
When the Nelsons sat down in the
living room across from Don Baxter,
the prior owner, Kari said it was just an
instant friendship. After that, the rest
is history.
“We bonded over common interests
and a genuine love of Redmond and
the community,” she said. “He was ex-
cited about my business because he had
a similar vision for the space.”
The seeds of the business were
planted years earlier, when the Nel-
sons moved to Central Oregon from
the Willamette Valley. Kari previously
ran a wine club called Northwest Wine
Explorer. The club would study a wine
varietal every month and pair it with
food.
“I’m an artist,” Kari said. “I love art and
I think wine is a beautiful form of art.”
And just like with art, Kari said
there’s many different styles of wines to
study and collect and get intrigued by.
Kari said wine can also be a commu-
nity connector — merging her passion
for art with her passion for people.
“I love people,” she said. “I love to
lean into them. I want to learn about
their life. I can’t wait to be behind the
bar just talking to patrons and getting
to know more people in the commu-
nity”
In a divided society, Kari said the in-
tention of the wine bar is to open up
to each other, be vulnerable with each
other, have fun and break bread.
“We all have a testimony,” she said.
“And the more we share it with people,
the more we actually come together.”
Kari said she felt called by God to
connect the community and use wine
as a vessel for connecting people.
“It’s a passion for God,” she said. “It’s
a passion for wine. It’s passion for our
community, together.”
█
Reporter: nrosenberger@redmondspokesman.
com
Nick Rosenberger/Spokesman
Kari Nelson stands next to the sign of the
new Testimony Wine Bar at 307 NW 6th St
in Redmond on September 1.